On March 23, US Secretary of State Blinken (Antony Blinken) and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin (Lloyd Austin) attended congressional hearings respectively, seeking the budget for the coming year from lawmakers. Among them, the amount of the defense budget will hit the highest record in the history of the United States. The two also emphasized that the United States should be ready to deal with the challenges from China.
The U.S. Pentagon recently announced that the defense budget for fiscal year 2024 will be $842 billion, an increase of 3.2% and 13.4% over 2023 and 2022, respectively, setting a record in U.S. history. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin lobbied for the largest military budget in history when he testified before the House of Representatives National Defense Committee on Thursday (23rd). He first mentioned that the reason for the increase of US military spending is to deal with the "strategic competition" and "pacing challenge" with China.
Austin said: "This budget is based on national strategy, and it is also based on the seriousness of our strategic competition with China. This budget will assist us in continuing to implement the 2022 National Defense Strategy, as well as the President's National Security Strategy. China is to us We are working hard to meet the challenges that are approaching every step of the way.”
Austin said that the new defense budget can allow the United States to increase investment to strengthen its advantages and resist aggression, including building a more resilient defense force in the Indo-Pacific region, expanding the scale and scope of allied exercises to deal with China's Indo-Pacific region. military expansion.
In particular, he mentioned that the budget calls for an additional $9.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) to help build stronger defense forces for Hawaii and Guam. He also emphasized that this is the key to US military operations in the region.
Austin also mentioned that the Philippines has agreed to nearly double the number of bases for cooperation between the two countries, while Japan has also promised to double its defense budget and will deploy the 12th Marine Littoral Regiment (Marine Littoral) in Okinawa with the United States. Regiments) to better deter conflict on the First Island Chain.
Top U.S. military: Increased military spending is to prevent world war
Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, also said at the meeting that the United States is facing threats from China and Russia, two major nuclear-armed countries, and described China as the number one "long-term geostrategic security challenge" (long-term geostrategic security challenge) for the United States. term geostrategic security challenge).
However, he emphasized that a war between the United States and China and Russia is "neither inevitable nor imminent." .
Milley said: "The reason why the US military can avoid great power wars is because we were and are the most powerful military force in the world. And we must maintain this status in order to maintain peace between great powers. This budget is based on Our strategy, too, is to prevent war. This budget will keep us strong and prepare us for the future."
Blinken stresses addressing China-Russia challenges
When US Secretary of State Blinken attended the hearing of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives on the same day, he also mentioned the "long-term challenge" (long-term challenge) brought by China to the United States.
Blinken said: "This budget will also strengthen our ability to defeat China. President Biden is firmly committed to advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region, which is why this budget calls for an 18% increase in the Indo-Pacific region's budget." , containing discretionary and mandatory proposals for new and creative investments to defeat China."
At another hearing on Wednesday (23), Blinken also emphasized that the United States is facing challenges from China and Russia. However, he believes that there is currently no evidence that China has touched the red line of the United States or exported lethal weapons to Russia, but China has provided political and material support.